Dutch results Good Practice Competition
During the conference of the European Week ‘Lighten the load‘ on 22 October mrs. Astrid Joosten awarded the prizes for the Good Practice competition 2007:
Dycore BV with “The replacement of traditional wooden pallets by incorporating a recessed EPS component into the product itself”
The company Dycore B.V. in Lelystad develops and manufactures concrete floor systems for all kinds of buildings. The ribbed floor element is designed for the construction of floors. The elements are rather heavy and to transport them, for years employees stacked them on pallets, wooden platforms designed to accommodate the blades of a forklift. However, the pallets were more of a burden than a help. Due to the fact that they also contain metal, they weigh around 28 kg each. After a rainfall, the wood used for the pallets absorbs water and the pallets can then weigh as much as 35 kg. The placement of pallets below the first concrete elements required a manual operation. They also had to be stacked by hand after the job at the building site was completed. A devil of a job that exposed workers’ backs to extreme physical stress.
After a study into the physical demands placed on workers, it was unanimously agreed that a solution had to be found. All field workers were called together to brainstorm the problem and various solutions were put forward and assessed. The ultimate solution adopted consisted of modifying the product itself. It turned out that it was feasible to incorporate a recess into the expanded polystyrene (EPS) lower layer of the ribbed floor elements to accommodate the blades of the forklift, thus eliminating the need for pallets altogether. Juryreport>>
Second European nomination:
Gardien BV with “Reduced lifting through smart design; reduced physical demands placed on the City of Delft’s road workers”
The City of Delft’s road workers were suffering from significant physical problems. Absenteeism was high. At the close of the nineties it was around ten percent. The City of Delft wanted to do something about this and asked company physiotherapist Gardien B.V. to come up with a plan to reduce the level of absenteeism among the group of forty road workers and service employees employed by the City Maintenance Sector. Together with one of the city’s occupational health and safety experts, Gardien first reviewed the tools used by the road makers or the tools that they really needed. The issues identified were documented using visual aids and this material was shown to employees during an information session at which they were given the opportunity to contribute their own solutions. Aside from a range of new technical tools, that were in fact subsequently deployed, the organisation of the logistics component was also put under the microscope. This produced some surprises. Gardien decided to look for a solution at the source of these problems: the design of the district itself. The architects responsible for planning the district had not taken into account the discomforts that road workers were likely to be faced with. The streets were often designed to be too narrow to accommodate a crane or lifting machine. So Gardien took a road worker along to see the architects and showed them the images whereby the road worker explained the difficulties he and his colleagues experienced due to their inability to use appropriate tools. The architects immediately understood the problem and quickly put forward a range of initiatives to help ease the physical demands associated with the work. The agreement was that these issues were not to reoccur in the future. The City of Delft prepared a manual with guidelines to be respected by architects. The great result was as follows: a 3.9% percent decrease in absenteeism during 2003 to 2005. Juryreport>>
Overview of all good practices
E-zine with articles and photographs of 18 good practices 2007: Lighten the load [10 MB]
- Arbody BV
- Approach to Physical Strain total formula, for real beneficial changes in behaviour
- Arbo Unie
- Use of PIMEX in training people to carry out physically demanding tasks (good use of care lifts)
- Ardyn
- Physical training programme for executive-grade police officers
- Artex
- Let it roll
- Buro voor Fysieke Arbeid
- A more professional approach to physically demanding work at Technische Unie, Alphen aan de Rijn
- Corus
- Vacuum lifts
- Dycore BV
- Replacing traditional wooden pallets by EPS rafters in the product
- Ergo Optima
- Behavioural support programme for safe VDU work
- Evi Consulting
- BUQI, the double catch-22 method
- Gardien bedrijfsfysiotherapie
- Clever design, less lifting
- Hogeschool van Hall Larenstein
- Innovation to improve safety within equine industry
- Holland Casino (2 submissions)
- Mobile reception desk
- Integral ergonomics in service provision
- Korpus Habitus
- Occupational Strain Survey
- Nedcar
- Coloured Mobility: the traffic light model
- NFU Netwerk Fysieke Belasting en RSI
- ‘Lighten the load’, physical strain prevention programme for university medical centres
- Nike European Operations BV
- Initially “Just another Project …”, now fully integrated into day-to-day business
- Plasticon The Netherlands BV
- Companies taking charge!
- Sociaal Fonds Taxi
- ‘Physical Strain' toolkit
- Stairmobil Nederland BV
- Stairmobil, For fit lifting
- STEP Nederland BV
- "Safe and healthy movement at the Wim Bosman Groep Nederland"
- Sint Franciscus Gasthuis
- How to keep your muscles flexible: preventing physical problems in the kitchen
- Stichting Arbouw (with 4 submissions)
- Website occupational health and safety promoting tools
- Tool selection guide
- Ergonomic tools for bricklaying teams
- Building on tour: a light-hearted introduction for young people
- Stichting Elisabeth
- Lifting and transferring: the proper use of techniques, tools and the body
- Stichting Sanquin Bloedvoorziening
- Donor lifting table
- Stigas
- Physical strain and the self-employed
- Verbond van Handelaren in Chemische Producten (VHCP)
- Guidelines for bulk deliveries of liquids from tankers
- Vereniging van Hoveniers en Groenvoorzieners in cooperation with SBCM, Cedris and Agro & Arbo
- TOM is a toolbox/reference source for anyone involved in work in the agriculture sector
- Vestia Woningcorporaties
- Project aimed at improving the physical working conditions for field staff
- Waterlandziekenhuis
- Hold tight and push
Award ceremony
The prizes and European nominations were announced on Monday 22 October 2007, during the Manifestation European Week 2007. The European Awards will be awarded during the closing ceremony of the European Agency in Bilbao, Spain, on 26 February 2008. You can read more about the European Awards on http://osha.europa.eu/campaigns/ew2007/
Composition of the jury
An expert jury has judged the entries and chosen the Dutch winner and European nominations. The jury consisted of:- Mario van Mierlo, MKB Nederland [Dutch Federation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises], jury chairman, member of the Focal Point workgroup European Context
- Mirjam Engelen, Research for Policy, project leader research effectiveness Good Practice
- Marjolein Douwes, TNO Quality of Life
- Paul Schuurmann, Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment
- Erna Heerschop, Federation of Trade Unions of Intermediate and Senior Personnel, member of the Focalpoint workgroup European Context
Press report
Winners Good Practices Competition 2007 announced
